2012 TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT: A New Perspective

August 4, 2012 Pinckney Michigan  -  I met Eric randomly in 2011. He happened to be from the same city that I currently live in (Ypsilanti).  I found out we were both brain tumor survivors. He tried to get me to go to the Masskicker’s Paintball Benefit, but I was stubborn and I declined. I was concerned about the physical demands and chickened out. But at least I got to eat some burritos with Eric and his brother, Oliver in Ypsi. I told myself that next year I should give it a chance.

In 2012, Eric invited me to a pre-event dinner at Potbelly’s, down the road from me and I decided it would be good to meet some new people. I’m really glad I went. I got to meet two really cool girls from New York (Deana and Jamie) and I got to know Eric and Oliver better. We spent the entire night talking and barely any of it was about cancer or brain tumors. I had so much fun that night and there was more to come the next day!

Oliver kindly drove the girls and I to the event in the morning. I have to admit I was a little intimidated at first. There were all these hardcore paintballers with mohawks and heavy duty gear. Thankfully, I had at least gotten to know Eric, Oliver, Deana and Jaime. So I had some comfort in knowing I wasn’t the only person who was pretty new to paintballing. I had no idea there was so much stuff involved in paintball ( markers/guns, masks, CO2 ,pads, loose clothing, missions,  special fields, referees, etc.). I was in no hurry to get on the field, but it seemed like everyone wanted get out and going. So I got my gun, mask, paintballs, and CO2 tank filled and quickly followed Oliver on to the field. (This is before I realized someone was going to give me pads a special shirt, and a body guard). I was nervous, but knew I was going to stick close to Oliver. That is… until he got shot right next to me. We were hiding behind a small building and taking on heavy fire. I had never heard such noises. Paintballs were hitting walls rapidly and zipping past my head. It was loud! We were pinned down and I couldn’t tell who was friendly and who I was supposed to be shooting. When Oliver got on the ground to shoot some rounds off he got hit pretty quickly. I was left all alone! Then some guy , who I think was on my team told me shoot at some hidden guy up front. As soon as I took a peak around the corner I got shot in the abdomen. I think it might have ricocheted off the building because it only stung a little. My shirt was a mess and I was out of the game. I don’t think I even got a shot off. I was too worried about shooting my own teammate. Everyone had masks and was in camouflage. It was hot and I was pooped!

The second time around, I was more prepared, but I still didn’t know who to fire at. I was stuck behind a tree and was just firing randomly from behind the tree with my bodyguard. Then what was supposed to be a “helicopter” came around and I was told to fire on it. So I started to unload on it. It must have gone behind one of my teammates because he told me to stop shooting him in the leg. (LOL!)I was just firing as many paintballs at the thing as I could. When I got back to the tents I didn’t even realize that my socks and shoes were covered in paint. Who would shoot at my feet, right? I was pretty unscathed though.

The best part of the day was when we got to unload paintballs on a bunch of unarmed volunteers running around a paintball course. I must have fired off 400 paintballs! An added bonus to the day was the M-16 marker I was given during the raffle. It’s pretty sweet looking and I can’t wait to use it next year.

Overall, meeting new people was the best part of the event. The organizers and the volunteers were really great.  As a 15-year brain cancer survivor, I’ve been to several Relay for Life events and I have to say the Hell’s Survivor’s Benefit was by far more fun. It’s nice to have an alternative experience. I look forward to returning next year.

TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit 2011

Slow it down you move a little too fast

Ya take a deep breath and make it last
These should be the best days of your life

American Bang, Wild and Young,

American Bang 2010

I attended the 3rd annual TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit last Saturday at Hell Survivors Paintball Playfield in Pinckney, MI, and had a BLAST for the second year in a row. Every single person there had smiles on their faces, and the adrenalin rush you got on the field was incredible. The best thing about the event is how it perfectly embodies the fighting attitude that the mAss Kickers Foundation promotes. Last year’s benefit was my first time ever playing paintball or attending a MKF event, and I loved every minute I spent on and off the field. However, I had to depart around noon last year to take my sister back to college, so I missed out on all of the fun after lunch including the raffle and gauntlet challenge. This year I was able to stay and kick mAss all day! My Dad and I filmed a news segment for Fox 2 Detroit last week to promote the event, which brought in some new friendly faces and got the MKF some deserved publicity with the help of Andy Wlodyga setting everything up and Sean Lee producing.

It was great to see the families that I met at last year’s event as well as the dozens of professional paintball players who helped out from the Great Lakes Rangers and team F.U.B.A.R back again and ready to kick some mAss on the field! The professional players let my friends and I borrow their pads, jerseys, guns, and masks for an unforgettable day on and off the field. In the morning I was welcomed by Derrell, my personal body guard from team F.U.B.A.R., who presented me with an honorary team F.U.B.A.R. t-shirt! When the time came to pick teams (red or yellow) I teamed up with F.U.B.A.R. on the yellow team while some of my friends joined the Great Lakes Rangers on the red team. We played 5 rounds in the morning before lunch and then spent an hour or so raffling off prizes, eating, and dancing in the rain. There was a FREE massage table open all day, so I took advantage of my recovering back (I had surgery towards the end of March) and squeezed in some time on the table while it rained. As if the day couldn’t get any better after playing paintball and receiving a massage, a volunteer decided to give me the paintball gun that she won in the raffle, and a man gave me his CO2 tank so that I could continue the paintball fun at home in my own backyard.

My favorite part of the day was running through the gauntlet. It’s basically an open field with a few blow up blockades to hide behind while people line up along the side of the field to open fire at you. Usually the people who run through the gauntlet are the professional players who are used to getting pelted every weekend and don’t mind the welts and bruises. This year I decided to join them! My first two runs across the field were a little scary, but when you’re running around and having the time of your life you barely even feel the sting of the paintballs hitting. The fact that I was running through the field was a big deal – after having back surgery 4-5 months ago and not running for about 9 months I have to admit that I was a bit out of shape. My bodyguard and buddy Derrell assisted me across the field for the next few runs as we skipped and held hands :).

I’ve still got bruises on my legs and booty a week later but they were all worth it! :D I chose the picture of what I call the “fab 4” for this post because without those 3 guys the event wouldn’t be possible! Go Andy, Sean, and Eric + everyone else who made this year’s TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit a success!

2011 TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT

A TEASER FOR THE 2011 TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT VIDEO BY Forever Cherished Productions.